Review Blog

Jan 12 2017

The 12th dog by Charlotte Calder

Ill. by Tom Jellett. Lothian, 2017. ISBN 9780734416926
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Dogs. Animals. Pets. Cricket.
Friendship. Family. Arlo the dog simply adores cricket. He can't
bowl or bat but he excels in the field. He is the fastest in the
field to get to the ball, keeping his eye fixed firmly on the ball
as it leaves the bat. But on leaping into the air and catching the
ball, he does not bring it back, he takes it away with him. No
matter how hard the backyard team asks him for the ball, he simply
does not give it up. So he is sent back to the pavilion until tea.
He desperately wants to play, even fancying himself as a wicket
keeper. One day Holly hits the ball off the middle of the bat. Up
into the air it soars, over the heads of all the fielders form the
street: Cooper, Yasmin and Max. Suddenly Arlo is there and catches
the ball. He runs through mid-wicket, then silly mid-on and finally
into the wickets, spilling the stumps and bails. All is tense
waiting for the umpire to declare Holly out. Arlo has saved the day
and finally done something with the ball that everyone approves of.
After that the teams are happy for Arlo to join them - most of the
time!
This is a happy joyous picture book about life in the backyard as
the kids in the street play cricket together. Jellett's lively
pictures capture the drama of the day's play, the everyday things in
the backyard used as their cricket pitch, the mix of children from
around the street, and their efforts in playing the game even with
the help of Arlo. All the while Dad is up the ladder cleaning the
gutters and keeping an umpire's look at the proceedings.
For kids new to the game of cricket many words used in the game are
there to be questioned, without being overwhelming. The fun of the
backyard game is infectious and I am sure many young readers will
want to try it out for themselves.
And many readers with a pet dog will instantly recognise the harvest
of balls in various states of disrepair shown on the endpapers.
Fran Knight